Synapse Audio - Obsession

Obsession is Synapse Audio's polysynth plugin modelled on the Oberheim OB-Xa, for producers after big brassy pads, thick analogue leads and that classic early-80s poly sound in synthwave, pop, film and anything with a retro streak. It models the oscillators, filter and amp in close detail and, like the hardware's separate voice boards, lets every voice drift slightly away from the others.

The architecture

Each voice has two oscillators feeding a low-pass filter that switches between 2-pole and 4-pole, with two ADSR envelopes and two LFOs, all modelled from the original circuits. Two parts run side by side in Single, Dual or Split mode, with 8 or 16 voice boards, so you can layer a pad under a brass patch or split a bass and lead across the keyboard. A modulation matrix, MPE support and two LFO Steps units (tempo-synced step modulation for almost any parameter, with freehand drawing) take it well past what the original could do. The patch browser includes the Genetics function, which breeds new patches from existing ones when you want variations quickly.

The voice boards

This is what sets Obsession apart. Every voice board has its own trimpots for cutoff, envelope times, and oscillator and filter scaling, just as the hardware did, so each note can sound slightly different from the last. Turn the cutoff trim left on one voice and it plays a touch darker than the rest. The Organic knob adds temperature-style drift on top. Together they give chords the loose, lively feel that real vintage polys have and most emulations miss.

The effects

The back panel holds the effects: a reverb by Mirko Ruta with a Shimmer mode, a stereo delay, and a chorus/ensemble. The shimmer reverb in particular turns a simple two-oscillator pad into something huge and cinematic without reaching for another plugin.

The sound

Brass stabs are punchy and bright, pads are warm and wide, and with Dual mode stacking two patches the sound gets very big very fast. The voice trims stop it ever sounding sterile. The flip side is that two oscillators per voice and a classic subtractive layout won't give you wavetables or huge supersaw stacks; for that, look at DUNE 3. For a ready-made synthwave palette, our own Obsession - Cyberwave Vol. 1 adds 65 presets of basses, leads, pads and arps built around that shimmer reverb and chorus.

Features

• Detailed analogue modelling of the VCOs, VCF and VCA
• Two-part engine with 8 or 16 voice boards
• Single, Dual and Split modes
• Per-voice trimpots for cutoff, envelopes and oscillator and filter scaling
• Organic control for temperature-style drift
• Switchable 2-pole and 4-pole low-pass filter
• Two ADSR envelopes and two LFOs
• Modulation matrix
• Two LFO Steps units with tempo sync and freehand drawing
• Reverb with Shimmer, stereo delay and chorus/ensemble
• Patch browser with Genetics patch generator
• 500 factory presets
• MPE and NKS support
• Scalable, Retina-ready interface

System requirements

• Version: 1.2
• Mac: OS X 10.11 or later. VST2, VST3, AU and AAX (64-bit). Native on Apple Silicon in AU and VST3
• Windows: Windows 7 SP1 or later. VST2, VST3 and AAX (64-bit)
• 2GHz quad-core CPU or better
• Pro Tools 11 or later for AAX
• The Rack Extension version for Reason is sold separately by Reason Studios

SOUND7 is an authorised Synapse Audio reseller. Digital delivery: licence activation code sent by email. See How to Activate Your Synapse Audio Plugins.

Demo